Welcome to the
Communication Arts
home page
Who we are and what we do
Bringing together film, print media, the internet, and television, the Communication Arts program invites students to become "media literate," to understand the industries behind the messages we are exposed to every day.
This program is designed to provide the first two years of course work necessary for a baccalaureate degree in communication fields. It emphasizes a strong liberal arts background and an introduction to print, sound and visual media. Students are offered options in journalism, media studies and television production. The program offers strong media production opportunities, including a fully equipped television studio, a student newspaper, graphic design laboratories and multimedia projects that combine these areas. Completion of the program leads to the Associate in Arts degree.
Program Outcomes
Upon successfully completing all program requirements, graduates will be able to:
- Write critically and with purpose;
- Write appropriately for a variety of media and media related fields;
- Demonstrate an understanding of how corporate media systems work;
- Demonstrate a working knowledge of basic video production technology;
- Demonstrate an understanding of visual composition from an aesthetic point of view;
- Research, write and report basic news stories;
- Demonstrate how media systems work ideologically;
- Demonstrate a working knowledge of the prevalence of media in our everyday lives.
Program Options
Majors in this program take Communication Arts core courses to build a general understanding of the media. These courses include Intro to Mass Communication, Journalism, TV Production 1, and at least one of several media writing courses. Then, majors narrow their focus to one of three options for study: Journalism, Media Studies, or Television Production.
Journalism
Students who major in journalism at NCC will study writing in a variety of
styles, from newspaper and magazine writing to broadcast writing to writing for
advertising and public relations. Journalism students are also expected to build
their reporting and researching skills. What they learn in college is put to the
test in internship with area media, including the Greenwich Time, the Norwalk
Hour, WNLK radio, and Channel 12 news. Journalism students are also given the
hands-on experience of producing a newspaper, "The Voice." NCC's student
newspaper was a finalist for the prestigious Associated Collegiate Press
"Pacemaker" award in 2005. Graduates in this concentration typically go on to
earn the baccalaureate in journalism or communication. Some have landed jobs
with area media.
Media Studies
Students who
choose a media studies concentration are given the opportunity to choose from
the variety of writing, production and theory electives offered in Communication
Arts. Many take the film study courses offered at NCC, and examine the media's
influence on society in the "Mass Media and Popular Culture" course. Most
students who major in this concentration go on to study mass media, film, or
communication for a baccalaureate degree.
Television Production
Television
production students take a sequence of courses in which they learn to record,
edit and produce television programs. Course work includes producing a
television news broadcast and developing proficiency nonlinear editing with Avid
software. Each year, television production students celebrate the achievements
of the Communication Arts program's students by producing the AVA awards, a
ceremony at which student work is presented and honored before the college
community.
More information about
Communication Arts
If you are
interested in the Communication Arts program and wish to learn more, we welcome
you to explore our website and contact our faculty. The Communication Arts
program coordinator is Professor Lori Soderlind. You can email her at
lsoderlind@ncc.commnet.edu, or you can call her at the college at (203)
857-7279. You may visit her office on the East Campus in room 115.